The Office 9–10pm, NBC. Has Michael Scott ever asked his Dunder Mifflin cohorts for help at a time other than the last possible second? Angela quits the Party Planning Committee when he waits until the 11th hour to recruit their services for Toby’s farewell bash. TV’s mellowest HR guy will be sorely missed, but it’s hard to get too upset when he’ll be replaced (at least for tonight) by Gone Baby Gone Oscar nominee Amy Ryan.

ER 10–11pm, NBC. What were we saying before about departing characters? Goran Visnjic makes his farewell appearance as a regular cast member—but, ER being ER, he’ll reportedly be back for a few episodes next season. Steve Buscemi guests as a drunk guy who threatens everyone’s safety, and if you think it seems there have been a lot of patients like that on the series over the years, then we’re thinking the same thing.

Friday 16

Doctor Who 9–10pm, Sci Fi. After hanging out on Torchwood for a spell, Dr. Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) returns to Doctor Who in the first episode of a two-parter—which, more notably, also features the first modern-era appearance of the Sontarans. Say who? They’re a dome-headed, all-clone race with whom the Doctor crossed paths a number of times between 1973 and 1985…and their return proves that advances in prosthetic makeup technology are just as essential to the noncheesiness of the revived Doctor Who as the advent of low-cost CGI.

Saturday 17

Raising Victor Vargas 11:30pm–1am, WNET Channel 13. Director Peter Sollett has another movie in the can (starring Michael Cera!), so fans of his heartfelt style can stop asking themselves, When the hell is he gonna make a follow-up to Raising Victor Vargas? Set in a world that’s rapidly vanishing—the East Village’s Latin community—Vargas is an extremely endearing coming-of-age film that is impressively accurate in handling the joys and awkwardness of teen sexuality. If you’ve never seen this 2002 film, prepare to be won over.

Sunday 18

World Series Tribute 2–8pm, ESPN2. Reggie Jackson turns 62 today, while Brooks Robinson is celebrating his 71st birthday. ESPN2 honors the occasion with condensed versions of seven World Series games featuring either Mr. October or the star Baltimore Orioles third baseman. Highlights include game seven of the 1971 series at 2pm (in which Roberto Clemente and the Pirates defeated the Orioles), and game six of the 1977 series at 6pm (in which Reggie hit three homers against the Dodgers, winning the Yankees their first Steinbrenner-era title).

Academy of Country Music Awards 8–11pm, CBS. In what appears to be a victory for democracy, country fans can cast votes online for the Entertainer of the Year award at voteacm.com, right up until 10:40pm. Reading the small print, however, reveals that viewer votes are just one of several factors used to determine the winner, which “include, but are not limited to, success at radio, sales of prerecorded music,” blah blah, etc., etc. Reba McEntire hosts the ceremony—the tenth time she’s done so—at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Desperate Housewives 9–11pm, ABC. The disarmingly goofy Nathan Fillion makes a welcome reappearance in the final episode of Housewives’ return-to-form fourth season, which is yet another of those “two-hour finales” made by bolting together two regular episodes. Our favorite poststrike plot twist—the head games between Lynette and her husband’s illegitimate daughter—plays a significant role, but a lot more time will probably be spent packing off Katherine Mayfair (season-long guest Dana Delaney), who has given the series a much-needed shot in the arm.

Monday 19

Gossip Girl 8–9pm, the CW. Whether you love Gossip Girl or think it’s the worst thing to happen to the Upper East Side since the Third Avenue El was demolished, you have to admit that Josh Schwartz and his collaborators sure know how to weave together an assload of plot threads and bring them to a simultaneous climax. Blair breaks out the heavy ammunition for her long-awaited confrontation with the astonishingly hateful Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg); meanwhile, in over-18 land, everyone’s abuzz about the wedding of Lily (Kelly Rutherford, who—so sue us—is one of the main reasons we pay attention to the show).

House 9–10pm, Fox. In the years since we saw the last of Oz’s Chris Keller and Tobias Beecher, no more intriguing male relationship has emerged on TV than that between Doctors Greg House and James Wilson—and yes, we’re talking about two straight men. In the conclusion of the two-part season finale, their messy friendship is hashed out in detail, as House continues digging through his fragmented memory in the hope of reconstructing the circumstances of a massive bus crash. Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst appears (as he did last week) as a bartender at a watering hole in the cranky doc’s subconscious.

Tuesday 20

Dancing with the Stars 8–11pm, ABC. While a massive chunk of the viewing public hunkers down for tonight’s final American Idol performance show, an almost-as-large contingent will be tuning in for the finale of a Stars season that began with great promise but by now has become merely okay (then at 10pm, when Fox stations switch to local news, everybody wins!). After the (relative) shock elimination of alleged R&B star Mario two weeks ago, only a fool would bet against Kristi Yamaguchi and Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor. On the other hand, when you say that about something, it has a statistics-defying way of actually happening…

Wednesday 21

UEFA Champions League Final 2:30–4:30pm, ESPN2. The debate over which of Europe’s pro soccer leagues is the best ain’t gonna end anytime soon, but Britain’s Premier League has made a strong case for itself this year: For the first time ever, two U.K. teams (Manchester United and Chelsea FC) are facing each other in a battle for the European Cup, the championship awarded by the Union of European Football Associations. It all goes down at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, where the action begins at the inconvenient-for-the-Russians time of 10:30pm.

American Idol 8–10pm, Fox. It pains us to say it, but Fox probably isn’t exaggerating when it describes tonight as “the most anticipated night of the television season.” In the first Idol finale to be broadcast from the spanking-new Nokia Theatre L.A., the last 12 contenders belt their hearts out once more for old time’s sake (so to speak), while the two finalists find out which of them will receive the right to someday replace a real star on Broadway. And you know what? If you’re sick of hearing your coworkers going on about Idol, this is probably also your most anticipated night of the television season.